Hello, friends! It has been such a nice week at the family abode in Utah. Summer time is absolutely beautiful out here. I am soaking it all in! I’d like to share some tidbits from my life last week as well as an accompanying photo recap with selections from my Instagram and Snapchat (@prettyneatlivng) feeds with you.

If you saw last week’s update you’ll know that Don and I flew home for the weekend to visit with family. I spent all of Monday catching up on work and getting the house in order. We returned to Utah on Tuesday and have enjoyed settling into a routine with the family. It’s so nice that we can all get along well enough to live under one roof for a month! We were just remarking the other day how awesome it is to truly enjoy each other’s company so much.

The icing on the cake for me, of course, was being reunited with my pup, Winnie. It was so weird to be at home without her and I missed her something fierce. Nothing beats the greeting I receive from her when we’ve been apart. It’s the same whether it’s three hours or three days. I believe this is a very common experience among dog owners. No one is ever happier to see you than your dog!

I love being out here any time of year, but summer time is particularly sweet. It’s lovely to be able to sit outside to work or relax with the family. A lot of people think of the Salt Lake/Park City area as a winter playground, which it totally is, but there’s also so much to do in the summer, from hiking and mountain biking to dining al fresco in old western themed restaurants like Snake Creek Grill. Just sitting outside and taking in the fresh air and gorgeous vistas is enough to soothe my soul!

In addition to balancing work and play with the family, this past week was all about getting started on the nursery in the Utah house. A dear and very kind friend of ours, Jeff (you might recognize him from past vlogs) removed all of the furniture from the room adjoining ours before we arrived in early August (that furniture actually belongs to his family, so that worked out well). This left us with a blank slate to work with. I did my best to order the big pieces we need for the room early on in our trip, so hopefully they will all arrive before we leave next week. Fingers crossed!

A few pieces did show up already, including the crib and glider. I couldn’t wait to assemble them! I’m documenting the progress, but I’m not sure if it’s worth sharing that footage until next summer since I don’t plan on purchasing any bedding or decor items until that time. I’d love your input if you’re interested in seeing a post next month about it even if the room is incomplete in this way.

We kicked off the weekend early on Friday with our annual girl’s outing to Deer Valley to ride the chair lift and have lunch at the Royal Street Cafe. Talk about scrumptious! The views were still breathtaking despite the lingering smoke from recent California forest fires that settled across the mountains last week. Don and I went out to one of our favorite local restaurants, Edge Steakhouse, on Friday night for a date. Let’s just say I ate extremely well that day!

I vlogged on Friday if you’d like to see more of my day:

The rest of the weekend was spent with the family, mostly outside on the porch or at the pool, sharing good food and laughter together. I count my lucky stars every day for being blessed by so much love and support.

I hope you are able to enjoy beautiful moments with your loved ones as we approach the end of the season.
Take care ❤︎

12 thoughts on “Week In Review | August 17 – August 23, 2015”

Jen!! My boyfriend is taking me to Park City in the middle of September and I’ve never been there! He used to live there as a kid…do you have any suggestions for romantic spots/activities/restaurants? I LOVE your videos and am so genuinely happy for you and Don. Thank you so much for sharing so much with us. 🙂

We love Edge Steakhouse at the Canyons as well as Grappa in town. It’s always fun to take the chairlift up at Deer Valley. If you’re into hiking/mountain biking there are tons of great trails there as well and it’s all pretty close to Park City.

My mommy suggestion for your Utah nursery- Since its a nursery she wont be in all the time, try to choose a theme that will transition well and easily to toddlerhood. It comes before you know it! By the time my son was 18 months I felt his nursery was ‘too little’ for him. Good luck choosing your theme and decor-it’s one of my favorite parts of pregnancy 🙂

Jennifer, I love the idea of using tape on the floor to mark where you are going to put the furniture! Its a genius idea for laying it all out without having to move it around a bunch. Using this in our nursery when we start putting furniture in!

I have watched your lovely sit-down video together with Don. It was so nice to hear his side and his reactions 🙂 You both will be fantastic parents! How amazing is it when something just clicks and you know you want to have babies 🙂
Love this post so much! Great week in review! I’m sure Winnie was soooo happy to see you <3
xox Nadiahttp://mielandmint.blogspot.co.uk/